Thursday 11 May 2017 19:54, UK
The English Football League (EFL) received the highest attendances for over half a century during the 2016/17 season according to official data.
The body of 72 member clubs across the three divisions below the Premier League: the Championship, League One and League Two, released figures on Thursday which showed the impressive statistics.
Over 18 million people passed through EFL turnstiles during the 2016/17 campaign with clubs recording their highest cumulative attendances since 1959.
EFL clubs have also seen an 11 per cent increase in matchday attendances from last season, while there has been a 3 per cent attendance increase when comparing the 67 clubs that competed in the EFL both this season and last.
Championship attendances passed the 11 million mark with average crowds of over 20,000.
The figures also back up this season's independent research from Deloitte, who highlighted the EFL as the best attended sporting competition in the country in 2016, with around 1 in 4 of all admissions to a sporting event being for an EFL organised match.
This year's cumulative figure of 18.1million is the 14th highest of all time for the EFL's three divisions, with those higher all recorded in the post-war era between 1947 and 1959 - the highest ever being 23.5million in 1947/48.
"Football attendances clearly benefit from promotion and relegation as those teams carrying larger supporter bases move around divisions," said EFL Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey.
"But what is particularly pleasing with this latest set of data is the fact the EFL has seen a 3 per cent growth season-on-season when this factor is removed and you analyse the attendances of the 67 Clubs who have been members for the past two seasons."
